These Special Days
by perfectheartcandy
Summary: There are certain, very particular days in life that sparkle among the mundane. Amy Rose, who lives a very routine life in the city, tries to create those memories for herself. Spotted sending her best friend Cream off, Amy retreats back to the banality of her life. However, her heart starts pounding to a different sense of time with the arrival of an old friend, Shadow.
1. Introduction

**Hello!  
Welcome to my newest fan fiction titled "These Special Days"**

**I kind of wrote all of this in a small span of time and I'm hoping to continue it very quickly, compared to my other stories (My apologies readers). Since I'm uploading a huge chunk of it I hope you won't be too upset if I upload the following chapters later in life. I do plan to finish it quickly. Thank you for reading this anyway!**

**This is a ShadowxAmy fan fiction. I ship them.  
I've never really played a Sonic gamed past STH 06, so I'm considering the older Sonic games when writing this. Just a little heads up.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!**

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"Amy Rose…"

And she turned to discover the voice who chimed her name, the name wonderfully said and mimicked by that low and dark voice. The voice she would have never anticipated to appear before her.

-Earlier That Day-

"Oh believe me Cream, it was definitely one of the weirdest dreams I've ever had! It might even be an omen or something." Amy exclaimed to her fellow friend as they walked towards the train station.

Cream, the shorter sorbet colored bunny whom Amy considered one of her closest friends, stared at Cheese, a Chao famous for being her sidekick. They exchanged odd looks and they directed themselves towards the pink hedgehog, "Amy, I don't really think a dream about you floating in the water is that strange. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

She lifted a hand to Amy's shoulder, to reassure the positive outlook on life they should be retaining. Amy responded cheerfully, saying, "I guess you're right. It was pretty strange though, because we never go to the ocean, or a lake, or anything near the water anymore."

"That's because _most_ of us don't know how to swim! Mr. Big is probably the only one who could!" And they giggled in fondness of Big the Cat, one of their greatest friends.

Amy returned from her spire of giggles, "But that's the strange part! Hmm…" and she pondered, bringing her hand to her chin, "Oh well, I guess it was one of those odd dreams. It's not like anything will happen in this city for me at least."

And she was right. Amy was stuck in the banality of the city, stuck in the mundane routine within its limits.

They reached the train station, where hordes of people crowded around the stops, the shops, and its nearby restaurants. Various announcements from loudspeakers followed by the ruckus of loud, mechanical subways and trains were surrounding Amy and Cream's sense of sight and sound.

"Are you going to be okay? You sure you don't want to stay a little bit longer?" Amy sadly complained to her friend. To her, Cream was like a reward and a vacation from her everyday routine of her city life. She treasured their time together, but she could only visit temporarily. Amy became fond of a life in an urban environment, but for Cream, she felt more grounded in the open space where her and Cheese could fly around and take care of other Chao.

Cream smiled, responding "Thanks Amy, that's sweet of you to ask, but I think I'm needed back home for now. I'll be able to manage just fine as long as I'm with Cheese" she cheerfully smiled towards her Chao friend. "I'll miss you Amy, I'll be back soon!"

They exchanged smiles, hugs, and goodbyes until the announcement for Cream's train beckoned. Amy waved, witnessing her friend vanish into the crowd of people.

Amy staggered for a moment, realizing that it returned to her and only her. Her emerald eyes looked down to the bland tiles beneath her crimson boots, and solemnly asked herself, "At this time I would be thinking about him wouldn't I?" Shaking her head clean from the sadness, Amy continued on with her errands.

Wandering around the city amongst the hustle, Amy Rose walked the city streets to preoccupy her mind for the rest of the afternoon. Her vanity was reflected through the windows from the buildings she would pass by, and she would notice the slightly morphed reflection of her block after block. Her steps became less cheerful in personality the more and more the day persisted.

Upon stumbling by a local bistro before finally heading back to her loft, Amy rang the bells of the door as she entered. The door closed behind her, setting off another chime from the bells, and Amy examined the scene: a cute, small bistro with counters lining the windows with tall stools with four of five tables in the core of the shop. She stepped into an innovative restaurant where most of their furniture seemed handcrafted.

Amy approached one of the workers and placed her order, "Could I just have a black coffee please?" She looked over the counter to observe the rest of their inventory.

"Sure thing, would you like a small, regular, or large?" The cashier asked, punching in the numbers of her order into the register.

She pondered, contemplating the level of caffeine dosage she needed. "Small," responding bluntly.

The cashier completed her order, followed by Amy paying and the receipt printing by the scratching noises of the printer besides the register.

"Ok, thank you," and the cashier pointed to the general seating area of the entire restaurant. "You can take a seat and we'll bring out your order for you. We just need your name…" he paused awkwardly, "so we can identify you, of course."

She released a slight giggle, "Amy Rose, my name is Amy Rose."

"Ok thanks" and the cashier smiled back before turning around to fulfill her order behind the counters.

Amy decided to take a seat facing the windows, and she made herself comfortable. Resting her chin upon the palm of her hand, Amy blankly stared outside where she witnessed the crowds of people rush past the small bistro, as if it were invisible, as if she were invisibly gazing at them. She completely spaced out for those moments, not even noticing the customers entering when the bells rang.

"Amy Rose…" the words from a voice projecting towards her made her eyes open wider. The realization of that familiar voice caught her off guard, as she gradually lifted her head off her chin. Turning around on the stool, Amy caught the figure of the hedgehog in front of her. A slim, ebony hedgehog with streaks of red and crimson eyes that stood before her, one whom Amy had not personally conversed with in a while.

"Shadow" she said surprisingly, staring at him with the steam rising from her small coffee.


	2. Chapter 1: Our Chance Encounter

"Shadow," Amy said surprisingly. "You work here?" Her head tilted slightly, but she expressed a cheerful smile that relinquished her melancholy throughout the day.

Shadow's reaction, however, remained stoic. His expression stayed the same besides the slight variation in his eyelids, which drooped a little in disappointment to Amy's vacancy. He settled her coffee onto the counter top and sat down beside her. "Black coffee huh…"

Her coffee sat nice and warm within a tea cup, sitting upon a plate that was decorated with thin slices of strawberries along the bottom rim of the glassware. Amy marveled at the flower arrangement of her order before picking up the black coffee and sipped it. "I know what you're thinking" and she shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. It's a way to keep me balanced, down to earth, that sort of thing. I guess it's pretty unusual." She followed up by a slight giggle and another sip of her coffee.

"Not really, but most people wouldn't assume a girl like you to like bitterness." Shadow looked forward, and finally comprehended the spell Amy was cast under when looking through the glass at the hordes of people outside.

"How about you? Are you a black coffee kind of guy?" Amy asked.

He turned to stare at her, into the clear emerald colored eyes of hers, which reminded him of the chaos emerald he always carried with him. Glancing down at her plate, Shadow snatched a strawberry slice from her and said, "Never been one for coffee, but I do like strawberries" and he bit on it, letting his tongue savor its sweet juice and pulp.

"And that's why we're friends!" Amy cheerfully boasted. Shadow smirked and continued picking the slices off her plate. "But enough about me, how've you been? How's work at G.U.N.?"

Shadow placed his hands upon the counter top, where he looked directly at the point where both his pointer fingers touched. "It's alright. I'm keeping my promise to you and Maria, on top of making money. I'm on break for this week…"

"How'd you end up here?" Amy interrupted, "I mean, out of all the places to go, why here?"

"This city is one of the biggest metropolitan areas within the region I'm in charge of primarily. Being here in the city during my break helps the investigation of crime rates, escape routes, and new suspects." He glanced over at Amy who bore an astonished expression upon her face, and smirked at her reaction. "I didn't even know you lived here until I saw you at the train station earlier today."

Upon the action of almost spitting out her coffee, Amy started to repeatedly cough, releasing a half- chuckle from Shadow. "WAIT WHAT!? You saw me earlier? Why didn't you say anything?!" She lightheartedly punched him, to which he cupped his upper arm afterwards.

"Ow, what was that for?" He rubbed it gently, subsidizing the pain she actually inflicted on him. "When I saw you, you looked pretty upset so I just checked up on you."

Amy's eyes expanded, "Oh so you followed me here? And that's how we ended up talking right now? Wow," she laughed, taking another sip of her coffee, "You're quite the stalker."

"You're one to talk," he smirked.

Her mouth dropped as she slammed her cup onto the counter, making her coffee splash out. "OH," she said angrily and punched him for real, which had in cringing on the stool. "Hmph!" Amy crossed her arms, shut her eyes, and turned to face the windows, ignoring Shadow's pain.

Absorbing the pain in his upper right arm, Shadow closed his eyes and scrunched his face. "I'm sorry, I was just joking. Seriously though, how is that poseur of a hedgehog?"

And then suddenly, Amy's pose loosened, where she then succumbed into a state that looked very lonely. Her stare descended, and her hands took the tea cup as she stared at her reflection of her black coffee, which would morph from the tiny ripples that formed. "He's good, probably out there on some adventure, running around."

Shadow could sense the tension he created by mentioning Sonic, through the slight quivering of her lip. "I-Is everything alright between you and him? Did something happen?"

"No it's… it's fine, everything's fine," Amy stated, blankly. "It was me, actually." She played with her fingers as they felt around the smoothness of the cup's texture as she elaborated. "You know we uhm… we... Sonic and I actually dated temporarily." Shadow's gaze widened as he felt himself staring at Amy, with an anger building towards Sonic in assumption that he broke her heart, but Amy continued. "He actually agreed to go out with me, after such a long time of chasing him. But then I realized that he's content with being free, his happiness lies with running around and going on adventures and that he would never love me the way I wanted him to. I didn't want that for him, I didn't want to limit him, so I let him go."

All Shadow did was look at Amy, and how he examined her throughout her speech. Shaking her head in disappointment, cracks in her voice, melancholic eyes; that was all he saw when Amy Rose, one who never gets depressed, especially about Sonic, talked to him. He responded, "Are you okay though? I mean you did love him."

Amy then smiled, and looked towards Shadow. "I'll get better. I still admire Sonic so much but after finally acquiring him, after getting him to stop running… I guess it was a simple infatuation, my love for the chase of it all. Maybe Sonic was my way of venturing out of this life in the city."

"I see… sorry" Shadow said, clearing his throat. "I'm sure that you'll find your ultimate happiness out there someday."

She ascended her stare to look at Shadow, and believed wholeheartedly that he was right; that someday she would find the happiness Sonic felt when running. Her expression altered drastically, from what looked like a bittersweet melancholic smile to one of those genuine ones. Amy's eyes lit up, "Thanks Shadow… for being here with me" and Shadow's eyes opened larger, which then prompted Amy to explain further. Adding in a slight laugh she explained, "I mean, I was feeling down today and… you're a good friend."

"No problem" he said simply.

Looking around in various directions, Amy distracted herself momentarily before talking to Shadow again. "He's not a poseur you know… Sonic that is." Amy sipped the last of her coffee. Shadow then proceeded to subtly chew on the rest of the strawberries off her plate. "I should probably get going," glancing outside, noticing the sky's color descending into dark hues of blue. "I guess time flew by a little while we were in here." Resting the cup originally on its plate, Amy gathered herself and started to exit the bistro. Before leaving, she laid her hand on the handle of the door, which felt cold to touch. Taking a last look at Shadow Amy said, "I hope we see each other again soon."

Shadow stared, to which he culminated the tolerance to sigh and accept that hanging out with Amy Rose was actually a considerable amount of fun. Shutting his eyes, proceeding to think it over, he opened them again and asked, "Would you like to meet again tomorrow?"

Amy stopped, absorbing the kindness that Shadow was actually provoking. She stuttered, "What about your work? I mean, your break…. Err, you know what I mean. I just don't want to take time away from your vacation." Her ears slumped, realizing that she cast herself away into her loneliness once more.

"No…" The black hedgehog refused, as he exceled forwards to reach her by the doorway. He unintentionally placed his hand on top of Amy's which held the door's handle. Realizing the warmth beneath his palm was of the girl he stared at; he immediately removed it, bearing no surprised expression compared to Amy's.

"I want to see you tomorrow," Shadow simply proclaimed.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2: Together, Let's Go!

"I want to see you tomorrow" were the exact words that constantly repeated throughout Amy's thoughts following her encounter with Shadow the hedgehog.

-The previous afternoon-

Her eyes boggled, her mouth slightly open, and her heart increasing by the beats, Amy internally refused the idea- the slightest ounce of possibility, that Shadow showed any interest (let alone harbored any romantic feelings) for her. She stuttered, "Wh-What about Rouge?"

Shadow burrowed his eyebrows to such an irrelevant question. "What about her?"

Amy's eyes jerked in a multitude of directions. "Was I the only one to believe you and her had a thing?" She leaned forward slightly to poke Shadow's personal space.

Feeling her attempted intimacy, he rejected, "You are such a child, of course not."

Amy only scrunched her face in retaliation, along with a few whines that escaped her system.

He sighed, "Rouge and I are more like colleagues. On some projects I ask for her assistance, but disregarding work I would not categorize her so fondly as that." Stepping up towards her, Shadow teased the personal space between them and descended his stare towards Amy. "Jealous?"

"U-Uh OF COURSE NOT!" She exclaimed. She took a pause to evaluate the situation and return back to Shadow's original invitation. "So, tomorrow then? Sounds perfect." The attempt to return back to her cheerful personality failed as the tension still broke through her voice.

Smirking, he said, "Cool. Where do you live?"

"WHY?!" Amy quickly retaliated, asking in such a suspicious manner.

"Calm down," Shadow used his hands in the respective manner to calm her down. "I mean, I'll pick you up at 2:30 tomorrow, at your place." He looked down at Amy's hand, which was still latching onto the door handle. Removing hers, he placed a firm grip onto it and opened the door, signaling the chime of the bells to the bistro they were just in. Shadow then leaned on the door, begging for Amy through his stare to direct him to her house. "You know, it'd be easier for me to pick you up if I knew where you lived. Unless, you want to be followed again. That can be arranged."

Releasing a nervous giggle, Amy tried to retain her cool once more. "No, no… that's ok." She exited the bistro and passed Shadow. While doing so she caught a whiff of his scent: it was manly cologne like, one that she could hug and be captivated within forever. Amy pointed down the street into the horizon, "I'm a few blocks down this way. I'll just stand in front of my apartment then tomorrow at 2:30. Hopefully you can spot me" and she giggled.

He smirked, "Ok. See you tomorrow" and he waved once towards the pink hedgehog.

She smiled back, and preceded the journey back to her apartment, occasionally glancing back to the bistro where Shadow remained leaning against the door. Throughout the walk home, she continued to carry that smile with her.

-The next day-

A little restless from the day before, Amy remained lying in her bed as she stared up into the ceiling. She recalled every tiny detail of her encounter, but shook it off in denial of it all meaning anything significant. "He's just your friend Amy, stop it." Her head jerked to the right when she saw the clock ticking towards 2:30. "Here we go."

The sun was maturing into the afternoon, and Amy stepped out into the city. The weather was perfect enough for her outing with Shadow, in which the wind would pick up slightly, probably due to the cars rushing by. Amy sported her favorite outfit, the all red ensemble that most of her friends would recognize her by. It was the outfit she thought would correspond well with Shadow if ever the opportunity to take a picture with him rose. She smiled to herself, letting her eyes close and her hand cover her mouth. "I wonder if we'd look cute together," she asked herself, and then shook off the idea once more. "Oh Amy, stop. You really are too much" she scolded herself.

Suddenly the engine to a motorcycle roared down the street as she saw its black body stop at the curb in front of her. Amy spotted Shadow sitting upon it as he revved the engine two or three more times before finally turning his attention to Amy.

"Ready to escape this city?" He asked her.

"What? Where are we going?" Amy responded, thinking to herself how bounded she was to the city. Only for the few moments she left her sanctuary to chase after Sonic, never has she once willingly just escaped for any other reason. The thought of going with Shadow caught her in between reluctance and adrenaline.

He extended a hand towards her, "Just follow me."

Amy scoffed towards Shadow, "In your dreams." He took that personally until she actually accepted his hand and hopped onto the motorcycle. Hesitating for a moment, Amy contemplated how to hold onto Shadow.

Carefully disregarding her hesitation, Shadow merged into the traffic where he sped down blocks and blocks of city. It was not long before he passed even the first corner that Amy's arms were clenched tightly around him. The warmth surged through his body, a type of adrenaline different from riding his motorcycle or even chaos control; it was a new feeling entirely.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Amy shouted from behind.

He yelled back slightly, turning his head for a few brief moments so Amy could hear him. "There's this cool place a little ways out of the city. I thought you might like it."

The accelerating speeds had the wind carry her hair in various directions- something she was very afraid of happening. In order to keep her face from flying off she pressed her forehead onto Shadow's back. "SORRY, I'LL LOOK LIKE A MESS IF I DON'T."

In response, Shadow paused to absorb the recent action Amy did. He could feel the warmth accelerate through his ebony quills, and her small button nose upon the center of his back. Smirking, "HOW STUPID TO PRIORITIZE SOMETHING AS TRIVIAL AS VANITY," he yelled back, staring forward onto the road ahead of them.

"OH SHUT UP YOU, KEEP DRIVING," Amy exclaimed from behind Shadow.

Expressing a slightly more detailed smile, Shadow released a small "pfft." Pursuing sharp turns and dangerous traffic, Shadow stretched the city's high speed lanes as he drifted down the city. Once the limits were breached, he revved his engine to full speed and escaped into the freeway, leading to a beautiful countryside beyond the city.

A place, well, where both Shadow and Amy could break from their mundane cycles… a place, that would captivate them into their own world of happiness.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3: Be Careful

The little taps of raindrops increasingly accumulated as it knocked against the glass ceiling of the bus station Shadow and Amy took refuge beneath. His motorcycle accompanied them beneath their abandoned glass sanctuary in fear of its deterioration from the precipitation. Shadow nonchalantly stared out into the distance with his arms crossed against his body, as he saw the thick layer of rain across the horizon. Amy however, sat down on the bench twiddling her fingers as she patiently waited for the storm to clear up.

"This sucks" Shadow released, "Looks like it won't be letting up, so we'll be stuck here."

Amy ascended her stare, looking quite surprised at Shadow. "Oh come on, you're the biggest downer I've ever met. We can still have fun!" Playfully, she got up and closed in her ebony quilled partner.

He rolled his eyes, "Please, this isn't the time to think of the positives right now."

In a heartbeat, Amy looked up and watched the rain pour down onto the ceiling above them. She remarked, "Watch me," with a big mischievous smile on her face. With full speed she dashed out into the rain, where the road beside the station was vacant for roaming. She danced in the rain, the clichéd moment that Amy always dreamed of doing (being such a romantic she is), and twirled around as the droplets ran down her body smoothly.

Watching her from the sanctuary, Shadow's eyes glowed with enjoyment. From that distance through the dense rain, he could pick out Amy's bright and colorful silhouette. However, to spoil her fun, he dashed out and grabbed Amy by the arm, retreating back to the little glass bus station. He pulled her in, as she released multiple giggles as water dripped from the edges of her hair, "You're going to get sick."

Amy's merriment dissipated for a moment, noticing she was in Shadow's arms. She felt a surge of excitement as his warm arms gently captivated her. Amy released his grasp by stepping back, and giggled, "Sorry! I guess I got careless there."

Smirking, Shadow replied, "Are you having fun?"

She swept her hair back slightly, which darkened in the rain after her moments of merriment. "Of course I am…" she paused before continuing, staring directly into his crimson eyes, "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

Amy complimented her statement with a genuine smile, a smile that had Shadow taken aback.

For a brief moment, a look of anger and disgust swept across his face, in astonishment that a morsel of fun came out of such a little detour to their actual destination; the fact that Amy still sincerely smiled around him was baffling to Shadow. "Even more so than Sonic?" he asked plainly.

Time stopped for Amy Rose. A name that she had always thought about at least once per day had even made its way crawling into her head when she had tried her hardest to move on; it had finally risen to topic once more.

"That's a little cruel of you to ask" bluntly exploiting her feelings as Amy turned her back towards Shadow.

He lifted a hand slightly, in an attempt to reach her, but rather, he turned his head and clenched his fists. Pausing for a moment, Shadow shut his eyes, "…Sorry" he added, breaking his own silence.

Amy turned to answer Shadow's apology. Her expression saddened as she witnessed his true sincerity. Extending her grasp, she gently held onto Shadow's, "No Shadow… I'm sorry. All this time, every single day I've always dreamt of being with Sonic like this…"

Shadow's attentiveness sharply rose to her statement, making him eager to listen carefully.

"Oh wait," and she laughed the odd interpretation Shadow could have taken out of that. "I mean, I just want to think of him as a friend from now on. I did mean what I said about having fun though." Amy's face lightened, and she ascended her stare upwards to peer through the glass ceiling of their little sanctuary, noticing a brighter blue sky. "At least the rain cleared up…" she paused before speaking again, "Should we go?"

"Yeah," Shadow meekly complied, remaining stoic and seemed to have no change in emotion.

Before heading off towards their destination, Amy and Shadow adjusted themselves on his motorcycle, becoming comfortable for the trip. Amy examined Shadow, noticing his silence throughout the entire movement. Looking from behind, the pink hedgehog thought she could investigate his change of behavior. "A-Are you ok, Shadow? Do you want to go back?"

He swiftly jerked his head, "I'm fine. Let's go on ahead." Revving the engine once turned on the motorcycle, and he prepared to take off by leaning forward.

Amy's look of concern didn't disappear, but the sound of the bike's engine occupied the atmosphere between them. Instead, she just sat quietly holding onto Shadow as he drove onwards, staring with the same feelings of concern towards him, and blankly outwards at the scenery.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4: This Place

About another half hour of silence between them, Shadow and Amy transitioned from the cluster of the city to a lusher and green location. It seemed more like a remote location, judging from the lack of people there were. Shadow parked his motorcycle in the lot which only accompanied four or five cars within the vicinity. A hesitant Amy looked nervously towards Shadow, saying, "Is it really ok to be here?"

"Trust me," Shadow replied simply. He led her into the forest where a path revealed its way deeper into its density.

As dusk crept into the sky, a shimmering light peeked through the leaves. The tension between the two still seemed palpable, but Amy, trailing slightly behind Shadow, broke that barrier.

Shadow, who was carefully leading the way into their destination, turned his head to check Amy's presence.

"Shadow…" She said, bearing an expression full of shock on her face.

He analyzed himself, observing the cloak of light he was surrounded in. The warm ray of the afternoon sun brightly detailed Shadow's features, including one that caught Amy's interest.

"Your eyes," she continued. Gently coming forth towards Shadow, Amy closed in onto his face. It absolutely astonished her how beautiful Shadow's eyes became under the light of this time of day. "Wow, they're really, really stunning. I wish you could see them for yourself."

Shadow stood, taken aback from her comment. He reciprocated her stare, gazing into Amy's emerald eyes. They glittered even more so than Shadow believed his eyes were, the closer Amy got near him.

It perplexed Amy, how unresponsive Shadow was whenever she came into contact with him. Among all the hedgehogs she mistook for Sonic, Shadow, even above Sonic himself, never shook her off. She tilted her head, in amazement, but broke her stare and blinked repeatedly to contemplate her actions just then. "Sorry," a giggle escaped, attempting to come off smoothly, and she continued onwards.

However, as Amy stepped forward the wind picked up and a flock of birds escaped from the grove they walked through, stirring the leaves.

She shrieked, and shuffled back into Shadow, who had caught her. Her face was buried into her arms and she peered up, noticing they resumed their stares.

Shadow chuckled in amusement, "Are you ok?"

Briefly taking a moment to evaluate the situation, the pink hedgehog gathered herself, pressing onwards following Shadow until they reached their destination.

The discreet trail that winded through the forest brought the couple into an area of complete serenity. The environment unfolded between the two, opening up to a wide open field shimmering under the light of dusk. Amy was taken aback from the botanical scenes that filled the area. Trees full of blooming flowers fresh from the previous shower subtly shed its petals that fell softly onto still water, where relaxing ripples formed in the small ponds scattered around the area. It was truly a breathtaking, magical sight.

Amy, whose eyes were glowing with such endearment her heart nearly stopped from the beauty she was witnessing, almost retreated back into the forest, thinking as if she entered a dream. "Shadow…" she called out for him, "How did… Where… I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life." She stared endlessly around the field, seeing nothing but nature at its pure finest.

"I found this place a long time ago, when I was beginning work at G.U.N. I thought you would like it."

She sneaked in a smile, "But you don't really seem like the type of guy to wander through forests like this."

Shadow released a breath of air and finally cracked a smile for Amy. "I guess you don't know too much about me, eh?" He waved his hand, signaling for her to follow as they crept further into the scenery. He found a little spot that was blanketed in flora. He suddenly dropped down to sit down and quickly unfolded his limbs to lie down. Amy was looking down at him, as he gazed upwards into the sky. "This is the only part of the woods where the trees don't cover the sky."

After Shadow's comment Amy found herself convinced to lie down alongside Shadow. She felt the subtle drops of dew from the earlier storm between her quills.

"I'm sorry Shadow," Amy stated simply.

He shifted his head to face Amy, and he met her stare. "For what?" he asked.

"I guess because I haven't been myself lately. Even you had to check up on me when I was feeling down at the bistro yesterday, and you went out of your way to take me to such an amazing place like this." She sat up, and gazed at the magnificent environment. "I can't believe you would do this for me."

Amy's endearing stare returned back to Shadow, who was convinced she hadn't changed at all. "You're always the same, you know." He put his hands on the ground to prop him up. Shadow planted his feet and stood up, extending his arm to Amy "Almost every time, you carry the same look in your eyes."

She gently took his hand, and as she stood she took a moment to just absorb the moment of contact between them. Amy wanted to pursue this curiosity of hers and stretch out Shadow's kindness for a little while longer. "What look?"

Shadow paused to gather his words. He looked around and felt the slight wind sweep across his surroundings. At that moment, he realized exactly what to say. "It's frustrating…" and Amy was taken aback by his words.

"Excuse me?" She exclaimed.

He released a slight chuckle, "It's frustrating to me," he said, which caught Amy by surprise. Shadow continued, staring at his clenching fist, and he sighed, "How could someone as absurd as you have so much emotion… and yet…" He paused again. "When I first met you, you were so cheerful."

Instantly the memories came rushing back to Amy and she felt the warmth climb to her face as the embarrassment settled in. The attempt to laugh it off succumbed into failure, as she still felt awkward from the memory.

"You have this look in your eyes. I can't explain it well, but… It's calming."

Amy openly stared at Shadow. Never once had she thought she moved Shadow in such a way. She leaned forward, inching closer towards him. "Uh-Uhm, I'm sorry… then, if it discomforts you."

"No." He quickly replied. "I just don't understand. Even when you're upset or angry, you have this look in your eyes that's sort of soothing," and he chuckled at his own cheesiness. "I don't get how you can always be so happy," and Shadow smirked, wondering why he was saying such things. Shaking his head, he said, "What am I saying?"

They remained silent following that moment. Shadow felt hideously embarrassed by his words, and Amy stumbled over how to respond. With enough courage Shadow decided to break the silence.

"So don't apologize." And Amy raised a questioned look, remembering that she initially was apologizing for her lack of cheerfulness. "Don't worry about how you feel, or act towards anyone," Shadow said.

"Just stay Amy Rose."

And his words touched Amy profoundly as they unleashed a new kind of emotion from the words she never thought Shadow would speak.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 5: You Again

Their afternoon seemed to slip by after that instance as Amy gradually became more cheerful around Shadow, becoming excited about the wonderful environment deep within the forest Shadow unveiled to her. The thin barrier of slight tension that existed between the two of them dissipated, overcoming the awkward stages of a blooming friendship.

Just as the city lights were freshly popping into the night, the sound of Shadow's motorcycle was heard as he approached Amy's apartment building. He stopped next to the curb and he leaned his bike to get footing on the sidewalk.

Amy cheerfully jumped off, sweeping her dress to get organized. She looked up to present Shadow with a smile, offering her thanks for the day.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself" Shadow said.

"I did," Amy replied happily. "Hopefully we can do this again soon and maybe next time it won't downpour cats and dogs," and she released a giggle, showing off her positive reaction their misfortune.

Shadow rubbed his chin, contemplating his schedule. "Hmmm, apparently Rouge found out I was here… now she's coming upstate and visiting to help confirm solved G.U.N. files, or so she says." His expression became sullen at the thought of Rouge's real intention of coming to the city, and he exhaled knowing he would have to cater to her that day, walking around, watching her shop.

"Tomorrow?" Amy asked.

He shook his head, "The following day."

Amy began thinking, realizing that she as well had plans the same day. "That's so odd; I'm meeting up with Knuckles too."

Shadow exchanged a look Amy could not decipher. It read that he was obviously curious towards Amy and Knuckles friendship, but also portrayed teasing sort of expression. Crossing his arms he played around, "Who would've thought," and he smirked, all smug and cheeky.

Her eyes immediately began to roll and she waved her arm in refusal, "Oh stop it. He's like my big brother. Hey, why don't Knuckles and I join you and Rouge in the city? It's probably been a while since they've seen each other anyway."

He stared at her, and she seemed oblivious to the type of invitation she just gave out. "Sorry, I don't do double dates."

Amy staggered "U-UH…" and she laughed, persuading Shadow that she was quite in fact oblivious to the fact. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Kidding," He smirked, "Sounds fun. Let's meet up around noon."

In response Amy smiled, "Great. I'll see you in two days then."

"Until then," and Shadow propped his motorcycle back up and he revved the engine. Amy waved goodbye and she retired into her apartment building. Shadow watched as Amy passed through the door and disappear until he merged back into the street.

Amy closed the door to her apartment and she leaned up against it. Memories of the past two days began swirling together in her mind. Laughing to herself a couple times she commented, "That was a lot of fun." After of few moments just leaning against her door, Amy decided to just relax and unwind from her arduous day.

She retreated to bed and became comfortable drowned in all her blankets and pillows. Staring at the blank wall across the room Amy contemplated what her plans were the next day. Instead of stretching the worry, she concluded that sleep first would be necessary, and that she would decide what to do in the morning. Amy shut her eyes, still picturing her day with Shadow in her mind.

-The next day-

Amy wonderfully slept in as the afternoon had already crept into the sky. She awakened to the doorbell ringing, and while her vision was still foggy, she saw the time the clock read on her nightstand, reading 1:30 PM. "HOLD ON," she shouted, with her voice all groggy. Lazily getting out of bed, she quickly arranged her hair together suitable enough for any visitor. In her bathroom she heard the doorbell ring twice more as she slowly brushed her teeth.

When Amy finally got to the door she was still rubbing her eyes. As she opened it, however, woke her right up.

"S-Sonic?!" She exclaimed.

He was leaning against the doorway, with an expression portraying his impatience. "You're too slow, Amy Rose." His casual smirk and nonchalant attitude was signature every time they met.

Sonic politely waited until Amy invited him inside. Sauntering towards her kitchen, Amy grabbed her coffee pot and opened the faucet to fill it with water. In the meantime, Sonic plopped a seat at her counter. "What are you doing here?"

He twirled his finger on the countertop and supported his head with his other hand. "Oh you know I'm just visiting the city, so thought I'd just drop by."

"Wow that's actually really nice of you," Amy commented, as she walked over to her coffee maker. "So many people are visiting town now: you, Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, it's like a whole party."

"About that, I actually came by to tell you that we're plan…" and Sonic stopped, pausing for a second. "Wait… how do you know that Shadow's here in the city?"

Amy turned her head to face Sonic, oblivious as to why he would ask such a thing. "He and I saw each other a couple times by coincidence."

"Oh…" Sonic replied unconfidently, "How was it?"

Amy felt a tension descending onto the environment, and she assumed it was her fault. She looked around the room for a while until she finally answered, "It was good."

Sonic elongated his words, "Was it… fun?"

Amy's expression suddenly became very suspicious, knowing this was not the typical behavior from Sonic she would normally witness. "Sonic, are you ok? You're acting a little weird."

"I'm just curious Amy," Sonic stirred. "I mean it's only been a little while since…"

She interrupted with an exaggerated "WHAT!?" Her boisterous shriek had Sonic cringe. Amy put a hand to her hip while the other was clenching into a fist so tight she could feel her fingers almost pierce her flesh. "I can't believe you would assume such a thing."

Sonic began thinking carefully, guarding himself for a possible attack from Amy's famous Piko Piko Hammer, to which is never spotted off of her person. He playfully used his arms as a guard and apologized, "Sorry Amy, it's just… you're kind of different right now than you usually are."

"Oh?" Amy asked curiously, managing her coffee as she pours it into her cup. She sipped it as her eyes were fixated on Sonic. Once she swallowed she went on, "How so?"

Sonic leaned back in his seat, analyzing how Amy never sprang up in joy when he arrived. Their breakup did not phase how each treated each other at all. The last time they met Amy acted normally, which meant she was completely oblivious to his rejections. He thought to himself, by this time she would have been talking all day and night. His confusion piled up the more he stared at Amy's expression, which shown no smile or laugh since he came inside. "I don't know," he answered, "You just seem so calm."

Amy blanked after hearing Sonic's words, with the details of the previous day flashing in her mind.

"Anyways," Amy regained her focus as Sonic interrupted her daze. Slipping a piece of paper onto the counter he slyly made his way to the exit. "Come to that address tomorrow if you want. It'll be fun." His steps were the only noise audible within Amy's residence, as Sonic walked out of her apartment. As he was about to turn corridors, the blue hedgehog looked back with a gentle clenching fist. He sighed, looking until he witnessed the door close.

Meanwhile Amy took it upon herself to digest the entire meeting with Sonic. She blushed to herself as she lifted the piece of paper he left upon her counter. Anxious to know what the entire meeting would be, Amy lifted the paper to her mouth, covering up her excitement. "I wonder if he just asked me out on a date."

Quickly realizing her plans with Shadow, Amy set aside the slip of paper back upon its spot on the counter before hustling towards her room to configure her attire, which would likely resume being her favorite red dress.

Amy clambered into bed anticipating for the morning to come, altogether disregarding Sonic's request to meet him that same day.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


	7. Chapter 6: What I'm Feeling

The following morning Amy was woken similarly through the consistent pounding on her door. She groaned and moaned until finally slipping out of bed, reading the time to be 9:00 AM. When she shuffled through her apartment, fixing her hair in the slight attempt to look decent in her pajamas, Amy looked through the tiny peek hole on her door, revealing Knuckles on the other side.

Opening the door cheerfully, Amy sprang, "KNUCKLES! It's so good to see you!"

She gave the red echidna a great big hug enough to overwhelm him. Shocked at first, he calmed once remembering his friend's energy. He patted her back, "Hey Amy, it's great to see you too."

She showed him inside, where they made their way into the kitchen area. "Are you hungry? Did you eat anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I grabbed a bite to eat before I came here." Knuckles sat down by the counter.

Amy opened her fridge and saw the limitations of what she could pick for breakfast. Plainly picking two slices of bread, she toasted them to keep their stay quick. The pink hedgehog looked down to see her messy clothes and her disgruntled hair. "I still have to get ready."

Knuckles smirked at her typical behavior. "Why don't I make you something as you get ready? Don't worry about it, it'll be my treat."

Amy's eyes sparkled at his kindness, "Wow Knuckles that's way too sweet of you." She dashed in the direction of her room. "Make yourself at home, and no need to clean the dishes!" She peered out of the corner before officially getting ready. "You can turn on the TV if you'd like, I'll be super fast!"

With her exit, Knuckles checked her fridge as well, intrigued with what little she has to eat. "This girl must eat out too much," and he grabbed the only two eggs and whatever left of milk she had left. He moved over to the television just to have nice background noise and returned back into the kitchen where he started the stove and proceeded to stare intently at the ingredients. "I hope I know how to make these."

Meanwhile, Amy danced out of her clothes and hopped into a quick shower. "Oh, I still have to tell Knuckles about meeting up with Rouge and Shadow," she said to herself. "I wonder if he will blush at the thought." Amy giggled, and swiftly cleaned herself. Getting dressed, she sported her usual attire. Looking in the mirror, Amy brushed her hair where her quills became cutely assembled into a round bob as it typically looks. She smiled at her excitement, "I think today will be a great day."

She emerged out of her room looking well groomed, smelling whatever Knuckles was cooking. Glancing over the counter she asked, "What're you making Knuckles?"

He nervously looked back and forth from Amy and what looked like an omelette. "Well, I'm not the best cook, but I can at least fry some eggs!" When it became slightly burnt, Knuckles panicked and turned off the stove, hurriedly putting it on a plate. "I apologize if they taste bad" and he handed them to her.

Amy grabbed the ketchup on the inside of her counter and the salt as well and sprinkled it on top of her omelette. Taking a bite into it, she found it to taste very normal (at least). "This tastes good, Knuckles! Better than what I can do!" and she laughed, happily eating the kind gesture away.

"Great! I'm so glad it's edible" Knuckles rejoiced. Then he put the pan inside the sink and made his way around to Amy. After turning off the TV, he grabbed a seat next to her. "So what should we do today?"

Looking up at Knuckles face, Amy wiped her mouth before speaking. "Oh, I was thinking of going around the city, maybe watch a movie somewhere. I mean whatever the city offers, there are no limitations!" She munched the last bite of her omelette and remembered, "Yes! I forgot, Rouge and Shadow are in town as well and want to meet up if that's alright with you."

Suddenly a look of disgust and great jealousy rushed over Knuckles' face. "What? What're Shadow and Rouge doing together?"

"Oh calm down," she said. "They're filing some paperwork for G.U.N. or something. I guess they'll get business over with and meet up with us. Don't worry, Shadow says it's completely platonic between them," or at least Amy hopes.

"That's so odd," Knuckles look of surprise didn't leave his face, "I met Rouge catching the same train here, but she never mentioned seeing Shadow. She only told me to meet up with her later after spending the day with you."

The way he spoke gradually became disheartened, which made Amy determined to reassure Knuckles of Rouge's feelings. "Hey, she wants to see you. Shadow's in the city on vacation, so she probably wanted to visit him too like you are with me right now. Trust me, don't be so worried."

Knuckles sighed, "I guess you're right." He paused for a second to realize how she knew about Shadow and Rouge. "How'd you know about Shadow and Rouge anyway?"

"I met up with Shadow a few days ago. He and I planned to meet up today" she responded nonchalantly.

"Oh I see," Knuckles flashed a wide grin. "Well I guess it's better than having Sonic play with your heart all the time."

Amy, in anger of his teasing, pinched Knuckles' skin, making him flinch in pain, almost kneeling to her. "OH SHUT UP! WHY IS EVERYONE ASSUMING THAT!"

His expression exclaimed the pure pain he felt from Amy's grip. Attempting to release her fingers went in vain. "OW, THIS HURTS YOU KNOW! I WAS ONLY KIDDING!" In which prompted Amy to stop and let go. Knuckles rubbed his upper arm, "C'mon Amy that really hurt. In all honesty, I see it." He recoiled backwards in fear that she could pinch him again, "I mean to say, Shadow is a nice guy so he wouldn't likely hurt you, or at least run away from you like the numerous times Sonic did."

He looked up and softened his muscles as he witnessed Amy's saddened expression. "I don't know," she said, "I had liked Sonic for so long I don't even know if what I'm feeling is right or wrong. It's not the same feeling I had with Sonic. It's definitely not the same feeling that I have when I'm around you."

"Oh thanks," Knuckles quickly remarked.

"You know what I mean," Amy stared at him intently.

Knuckles smirked, acting proud that Amy's crush (more like obsession) with Sonic finally made its conclusion. He came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "I know what you mean. It's great you feel this way towards Shadow, and I as your friend will help you determine these feelings. If he makes you feel happy, and most of all you feel like you're yourself when you're around him, then that's all that matters."

She quickly embraced him, thanking him for such guidance. "Thanks Knuckles, you're always so kind to me. I'm glad we're friends" and she smiled to him like a little sister admiring her big brother.

Their tender moment was quickly disturbed as Knuckles questioned, "Anyways, what time and place are we supposed to meet up with Rouge and Shadow?"

Amy stepped back, in realization that she never discussed it with Shadow. Scratching the back of her head she said, "You know, that's a really good question."

Knuckles smacked his head, "Great."

"I'm sure we'll find them! Let's head out!" And the two ventured out of Amy's apartment to hopefully find Shadow and Rouge.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 7: You're Different With Her

Luckily for Knuckles and Amy, as they were rushing out the apartment building Shadow came speeding down colliding into Knuckles, with Rouge flying shortly behind. The people who witnessed the scenario in action stopped their busy routines to check the whole group, then rapidly returning back to their lives, some not even stopping.

When Rouge finally caught up, she spotted the red and black figures upon the pavement of sidewalk. Putting her hands to her mouth she exclaimed, "Oh my!"

Amy hurriedly went to Knuckles and helped him up. "Are you two alright?"

Similarly, Rouge did the same for Shadow. "Why, this isn't why you should go at such speeds down street full of people, but just look at who Shadow ran into- Amy and the Emerald Keeper, or should I say not so good keeper at least."

Immediately after the five seconds within meeting, Knuckles temper enraged and was on the verge of complete explosion. "You know what woman! I wish I ran into you so at least there'd be chance of you getting concussed!"

The two angrily sparred back and forth verbally as Amy and Shadow just watched. Annoyed, Amy spoke up. "ENOUGH YOU TWO!" pushing both of them back, where the couple subsided in their rage. "Now that that's taken care of, it's really great seeing you Rouge. It was so lucky for you to run into us."

"I'm glad I get to see you too, Amy. It's better than seeing this lump of happiness right here," she said annoyingly pointing to Shadow. "Not even an hour into meeting each other does this one dash out of my sight. Who knew we'd run into you guys? What a miracle."

Amy stared at Shadow with a small glimmer of hope and happiness starting to accumulate within her. Rouge's words made it perfectly acceptable to think that Shadow was running towards Amy's house. She smiled shyly, "Yeah, it is."

"I guess nobody likes to spend time with you," Knuckles deviously teased Rouge, as he stood against her all smug and cocky.

It sparked her anger and she gave Knuckles a great big slap. "You're such a stupid boy" and he promptly walked away from Rouge back to Amy's side. "Anyways, why are you with this failure of a treasure hunter, Amy? I'm sure you've got better things to do."

Suddenly, to her left, she saw Shadow staring very seriously towards Amy and became a little guarded in reaction to his expression. "Uhm… well Knuckles thought he would visit since he and I are good friends. We were actually looking for you two though."

"Hm?" Rouge asked in confusion.

"Yeah," and Amy turned to Shadow, "We never discussed where we would meet up and what time."

Shadow chuckled, "So you would've searched the entire city in order to find us?" He teased her.

As Shadow and Amy were talking, Rouge retreated to Knuckles. She was caught in awe by the difference Shadow acted when he was around Amy. Crossing her arms, "Man I've never seen that boy as so much crack a smile. Did something happen between them?"

Knuckles too, bore the same expression and reaction on his face seeing how light the atmosphere was between the two hedgehogs. "Not yet, Amy told me they've met up before. I'm guessing they both wanted all of us to hang out for the day."

"Well isn't that cute," still examining them, "At least it will all fall into place later tonight."

"What? What's going on late tonight?" Knuckles asked in confusion.

Rouge tried to keep the surprise, and she winked, "Oh nothing… ANYWAYS," and she clapped, grabbing everyone's attention. "What shall we do for the day? Since we're all together, we should celebrate!"

Shadow checked the time at a nearby street clock which revealed it to already be 11:00 AM. "What're you thinking, Amy?"

"Only asking her opinion Shadow, that's awfully rude of you," Rouge teased.

In response, Shadow rolled his eyes. "I thought since she knew this city better than any of us, she would know where to go." He returned to look at her, where Knuckles and Rouge came to the conclusion that asking Amy what the agenda should be was probably the smartest, and they paid close attention to her as well.

"Oh well…" Amy hesitated, "We can… get lunch first if you guys are hungry. And then there's this really cool theme park we could check out on the other side of the city. I've never been there before so I think it'd be fun! Then I think there should be a movie theatre near there if we get bored, and there's always the park as our last resort" Amy thought of all the city's attractions, only coming up with those three as plausible ways to have fun.

"Well doesn't that sound all fun and romantic, right Shadow?" Rouge deviously winked towards the black hedgehog, which made him step backwards in disgust.

"It doesn't matter to me, but food sure sounds good right now," Knuckles commented, rubbing his stomach.

"Well isn't that bistro just down this street?" Shadow asked Amy, "I wouldn't mind eating there."

Rouge and Knuckles looked at each other, both noticing their exclusion from Shadow. However, they would try their best to ensure success between the two hedgehogs. "Lead the way, then." The two said, which prompted the group to walk down the street to the bistro where Shadow and Amy met.

-After Lunch-

Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow and Amy shuffled outside of the small bistro, signaling the little bell on the door to ding. Knuckles rubbed his stomach ferociously satisfied with his meal, "Man, that was really good! I should remember to eat there next time I visit you Amy."

In return, she smiled kindly to the red echidna. "I'm glad you liked it there, Knuckles. It's one of my usual escapes, so to say."

"Now that we're all fueled, why don't we check out that theme park you told us about?" Rouge prompted.

All of them carried the same expression of eagerness to see what kind of attractions this theme park had. However, Knuckles remembered, "Hey, isn't it all the way on the other side of the city though? Should we walk?"

"How about the subway or a taxi?" Rouge brought up.

Amy shook her head, "We could..." She looked up to see the solution to their problem. "There's this really cool skyline that can take us there almost instantly. Anyone here object to heights?"

"There's a skyline in a city!?" Knuckles exclaimed in such confusion.

"Well…" Amy began, "Yeah. I've never ridden it before, but since things become more and more commercial I guess they wanted the tourists to see the view."

Rouge fawned over the dazzle of a view, as she swayed back and forth in her position. The perks of being a bat allowed her the grandeur of every nook and cranny she can fly above. "Oh how romantic! I'd love to see this entire city."

Knuckles, thought similarly, "Yeah, it'd be pretty cool not expending my energy to glide everywhere. Let's go!"

However, as Amy and Rouge walked off in excitement over their agenda for the day, Knuckles took attention to Shadow's silence, seeing him carrying a rather small box. "What're you holding Shadow? Did you just get it from the restaurant?"

Shadow only thought sincerely of Amy the more he held the sweet smelling box. He looked at her as she walked, only to question his interest in such a girl, only to slightly smile to himself. Knuckles then knew, it was meant for Amy, catching the expression Shadow held, and was struck in awe he could ever make such a face.

He turned to Knuckles and ambiguously spoke, "It's a surprise."

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8: You're Sweets

"Looks like it's a $15.00 roundtrip ticket per person," Rouge said staring curiously at the sign of admittance.

The group ventured to the skyline not too long after having lunch, walking off any extra gluttony felt from their meal. Knuckles and Rouge checked out the prices while Amy and Shadow stood back, looking at the other people hop on.

Amy saw the couple getting on board together and became envious of that scene. She hopefully thought being paired up with Shadow could prove her heart of some sort of sign, all the while being fun. She saw a family of six being split up where the mother went with the youngest, the father went with their only daughter, and the two eldest stayed together. Maybe it was luck on her side that these carts can only provide a max of two people.

"Hmm, it seems there can only be two people per cart" Shadow said in the background, alerting Amy's attention. She turned to face him directly, and they both exchanged stares. He looked down into her emerald eyes, ones he had already become familiar with. "Would you like to be with Rouge?"

Hearing him ask that disheartened Amy, as she thought he'd ask her to be with him. Averting her gaze she replied, "Oh, I… I guess I wouldn't mind."

He snorted a type of chuckle back to her, "What an odd response from you. Do you not like her?"

She stepped back, partially offended by his assumption. "Of-Of course I do! It's just-"

Amy was interrupted by Rouge wrapping her arm around her, pointing a finger to her mouth and winking. "Oh honey, I'm riding with Knuckles! It's finally time he and I started getting along. No need for us girls to get acquainted. How about you and Shadow here become more personal?" She grinned deviously, "How about it Shadow?"

He looked towards Amy and tenderly released a small smile, "It'd be my pleasure." Saying so, he gripped the small box in his hands firmly.

The three of them approached the ticket booth where Knuckles held their spot in line. Rouge came up to the vendor and spoke very courageously, "We need four tickets kind sir."

"You know you're paying right?" Knuckles teased.

Rouge playfully shoved him back into Amy and Shadow, where he almost fumbled right in front of them. Releasing a playful "Hmph!" she added, "Just because you paid for my lunch doesn't obligate me to pay for you. That's $30 out of my wallet you know!" She handed him enough money to only allow herself to get a ticket, leaving Knuckles slightly annoyed.

"You're such a cheap woman you know that?" He snarled as she walked away from the ticket booth. Paying his amount he quickly grabbed his ticket and caught up to her. Waving back to Amy and Shadow he shouted, "See you guys on the other side!"

Witnessing their odd relationship, Shadow turned to Amy and asked, "Would you like me to pay for you? I don't mind at all."

Amy retreated back, blushing in appreciation, "N-No way… You were kind enough to pay for our lunch. I'd feel real bad."

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

She smiled, as she truly felt he cared for her. "Thank you Shadow, but I'll pay for myself this time."

As both of them got their ticket, they made their way towards the cart, where another worker escorted them into it. "Just make sure not to stick your hands and feet out, and don't rock the cart."

Amy nodded determinately and the worker shut the door on them tight. As they took off, the view of the city immediately opened up before them. The sun was blazing high in the afternoon and the busy streets were full of cars and people that looked like ants. The view extended further outside the city limits revealing lush greens and sparkling blue waters.

"How beautiful…" Amy remarked. Turning towards Shadow who was watching the view as they went, she captured his attention. "Are you upset you're not with Knuckles?"

Shadow stared at her in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Amy twiddled her thumbs, anxious that Shadow at first didn't want to be grouped with her. "Earlier, when you asked me to be with Rouge, it seemed like you and Knuckles had something important to talk about."

"Oh, not at all" he simply replied. "I just thought you and Rouge would've liked to catch up since you hadn't seen her. I'd rather have your company, but I don't want you getting annoyed of mine."

His words immediately made Amy's heart pound right through her chest. She hid her smile away in fear of becoming too giddy over the moment. Clenching her fists in her lap she responded, "No I… I think the same" as she ascended her stare to properly smile towards Shadow.

"Oh?" He questioned.

Nodding back, "Yeah, I like hanging out with you Shadow."

Shadow's mouth dropped only slightly as he stared at Amy's expression. Holding the box on his lap, he looked at her knowing it was the right person to share it with.

"What is that anyway?" Amy asked.

He stood up from his seat, scaring Amy for a little bit, and shuffled to her side, which prompted her to move over. Lifting the tabs of the box, he opened it slowly, hoping its contents weren't destroyed. It revealed to be a large cupcake with vanilla bean icing and a strawberry on top, perfectly cut for two people. "It's dark chocolate. They ran out of coffee cake, so I thought this would work."

Amy couldn't help but almost tear up at such a nice gesture. She admired how cutely it was decorated, as if for an occasion. "Wow, Shadow that looks really good. What's this for?"

"Just to celebrate our friendship, I guess today's a special day" He replied.

"How so?" Amy's curiosity beckoned.

Shadow looked outwards towards the view, where it seemed like the ride was coming to an end pretty soon. "I don't know," he began to tease, "You're pretty annoying to be around."

Amy retaliated by slightly shoving him. It was followed by her dipping her finger into her half of the cupcake and smearing it onto Shadow's face, poking her tongue out at the fun. "That's what you get!" And she picked up her half and starting eating it.

Shadow angrily mimicked her action by shoving Amy's hand up to her face, making her half of the cupcake ooze its contents everywhere. Icing got up her nose, even. "That's what you get," teasing her once more as he wiped off the icing with his finger and proceeding to lick it off.

All the crumbs of the cake got everywhere, where Amy jumped up hurriedly to make sure she wouldn't stain her dress. Wiping off her face she cried, "I hate you."

Feeling sympathy for ruining her half, he grabbed the sole napkin from inside the box. "Here," he signaled her to sit down once more.

She reluctantly did, hoping no more tricks were up his sleeve. To her surprise, Shadow's gentle touch soothed Amy's anxiety as he caressed her face with the napkin, wiping off all the residue of cake. Looking at his expression, Amy witnessed what concentration he had to help clean her face. "Thank you," she said sincerely but returned back to her playful attitude, "But because of you I couldn't enjoy that piece of cake… and it was such a nice gesture too."

Shadow broke his half of the cupcake into two incongruent pieces, making Amy's a little larger than his. "Since you happen to put it that way, I'll share my piece."

He handed it to her, in which the happiness she wished could release at the moment exponentially grew.

The couple happily nibbled onto their last bites and the skyline finally came to its conclusion. Shadow, in desperate attempt to escape any lecture form the mess of crumbs they made within the cart, grabbed Amy's hand and he dashed them out of there as soon as the worker opened the door. The worker there only noticed the slice of wind gash through him in confusion as to where the passengers of the cart went.

Leaving the area, Amy spotted the brightly colored echidna and the white bat accompanying him, as they waited near the streets outside.

"You guys finally caught up, and here I thought you guys were all about speed," Knuckles remarked. "Did you guys take a detour or something?"

Inhaling slightly louder than usual from their previous run, both Amy and Shadow shook their heads. "We just took our time is all" Shadow replied.

"That's odd to hear from you, Mister," Rouge entered, "Especially since you're always on the run chasing your cases. It's nice to know this girl by your side helps you to relax from time to time" and she pointed to Amy, who looked over towards Shadow in shock. Shadow, in return, was trying to avert everyone's gaze. Rouge tapped her shoes, "Oh come on you slowpokes!" and they both turned to see Knuckles and Rouge by the entrance of the theme park. "It's already 3:00 and we still have so much to do!"

Amy, in excitement to see this new ground, skipped ahead to catch up, where Shadow stayed behind for a moment to digest everything.

Staring at Amy as her red boots would spike up whenever she ran, and her pink hair swayed back in forth in brush like motions, Shadow collected quite a bit of happiness. Feeling the last residue of frosting upon his finger he decided to lick it off.

"These aren't too bad after all," he said before catching up with the rest of the group.

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**Thank you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9: I've Caught You

The theme park opened up with many colors and attractions, where hordes of people, couples especially, took up every nook and cranny of the little space it offered. Bright lights were already prepared for the nighttime, and the smell of popcorn mixed with cotton candy filled the air. It truly looked like a lot of fun, minus all the people around them.

"I guess this place is more popular than I thought," Amy saddened as she watched all the people on the rides she'd like to go on.

Rouge looked around to see if there was any slight attraction they could head to without waiting years for. "Doesn't seem like we'll be able to go anywhere with all these people…" and as she turned around she found the rest of her group missing. She exhaled a huge sigh, "How annoying."

In an attempt to help Rouge look for a place to go within the park, Amy obliviously got carried away with the crowd. Once she realized, she became overwhelmed by the immense amount of people looming over her. She couldn't see a thing! Then, it came to her a tactic she used to get out of danger. Running past the crowds to a spotted balloon seller, Amy bought the common yellow balloon with a blue star decoration on it. She brought it down to her and blew a little more air into it, which always managed to carry her out of any situation, especially against Z.E.R.O.

Tying it to her wrist, Amy felt her feet leaving the ground and slowly she felt weightless. Shouting against the park music and the crowds' noise, Amy tried her best to yell, "ROUGE! KNUCKLES! SHADOW! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Luckily, Amy spotted a gliding Knuckles mimicking the search. "KNUCKLES!" she shouted, which caught his attention. It was incredible how fast he glided towards her, too fast, at least. Too fast, in which made him uncontrollable and unable to stop to where he knocked into Amy in such momentum he arms shot upwards and his knuckles popped the balloon. Before he could realize what exactly he had done, Amy was already falling to the ground.

Releasing a huge cry for help, Amy felt that her stomach would fall out her mouth as she played gravity's tricks. She prepared for a hard crash upon the ground, but when she opened her eyes she noticed the warmth of two arms holding her.

"Guess we don't need a theme park for you to go on a free fall, Amy Rose," Shadow playfully said as he held the pink hedgehog in his arms.

Amy, baffled, completely and immediately felt the warmth rush to her head. It almost became routine looking into Shadow's eyes once more, as the ecstasy of her fall led her to breathe inconsistently. It was almost too euphoric to her, being held like a princess. "How did you see me? I was calling out for you."

As Shadow gently helped her with her footing, he tightly clenched the Chaos Emerald in front of her. It certainly helped that Shadow could manipulate time. "I found Rouge at the front entrance, and then I heard your squeamish voice."

"Well then…" Amy annoyingly responded, "You didn't have to save me."

Knuckles flew down, panting in panic over what just happened. "Oh my gosh, Amy, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

She came up to him, holding her arms in front of her. "It's alright Knuckles, I'm fine. Thank you for your kindness," and Amy glared at Shadow with a piercing look of rage.

Shadow then aggressively grabbed her hand; suddenly pulling her away from Knuckles, and led her to the rendezvous point Rouge was located. Peering behind his shoulder he saw the expression she carried, one that was obviously pissed off. He sighed, "I had to save you… You would've fallen into another man's arms."

Her eyes shot wide open at his statement. It confused her to no extent how he switches between being entirely dreadful to playful to serious. Amy's heart was skipping beats faster than the pace they were walking.

Knuckles followed behind closely, chuckling at their awkward relationship.

"Well there you guys are," Rouge said tired of waiting by herself. The group approached her, where she was patiently at the entrance as more people shuffled in. Her lips were pursed, as she put an arm on her hip, tapping her foot. "Way to make yourselves so easily lost. All these people won't make this place any fun since we'll be waiting for everything."

"You're right," Shadow agreed, "It won't be safe for this one especially since she's just a mere child."

Amy felt Shadow's grip become tighter. Annoyed once more, she angrily pulled her hand out of his grasp and crossed them. "I can take care of myself thank you."

"Well what should we do now?" Knuckles questioned.

Rouge, examining the situation carefully, consistently rubbed her fingers against her chin. As she pondered, the rest of the group thought of other solutions as well. "Hmm… seeing as there is this many people here, there probably aren't too many at the movies." Her statement lightened the atmosphere for them as they became excited to watch a movie. "However," which led the group to synchronized sighs, "I don't have any money left."

"Is this another one of your attempts to make me fork over my money for you, Rouge?" Knuckles' glare towards the white bat seemed suspicious.

"Either way," Shadow interrupted, "It'd probably be best for us to save our money anyway… Wouldn't want to get into a situation where we're in over heads."

Looking at a nearby clock, which pointed close to 4:30. Rouge planned the rest of the day accordingly. "Why don't we just go visit that park? There's not a lot of time until I have to check a client for this next job. They're only available at 6:00 P.M. and I'm one to be prompt." Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, there seemed to be a secret agenda on Rouge's mind that surprised the group into a time crunch.

Knuckles, immediately became disappointed as he anticipated the time he'd spend with Rouge afterwards their group date, only to be postponed by her job. "I guess you were just planning to blow me off then?" He crossed his arms affirmatively, and posed a disgruntled look.

"Who is this client anyway? I thought you were off duty for today, Rouge" Shadow looked at Rouge dutifully with cold eyes. Amy was caught off guard by how serious Shadow looked at Rouge, an expression never shown to her.

Rouge replied, "You know I can't disclose those details, even to you, Shadow" and she mischievously smirked, as if she were keeping a secret. "However, it is an extremely sensitive case. I'll need you guys to come along to help me out later." She then turned to Knuckles and stepped closer and closer until they were about an arm's length away, "That means you too. Trust me, I would never forget our little date Knuckles."

Knuckles looked at Rouge without a response at hand. He stood there in complete paralysis, feeling a little warmth in his cheeks. Relaxing his clenched fists, a wave of relief swooped him in knowing his anxiety of being stood up was just a false alarm.

"Wow," Amy awed, obviously both confused and love struck by their sentimental moment, their only sentimental moment.

"So then," Rouge then spoke up, turning to Amy and Shadow. "Shall we?"

The four of them carefully exited the amusement park, particularly staying close to one another to keep from getting lost in the crowd. Rouge and Amy once again led the group towards their destination as Knuckles and Shadow followed slowly behind.

Knuckles nonchalantly kept his hands on the back of his head, as if he were suspending it up. His purple eyes shifted towards Shadow, who was walking with his arms swaying but a stare locked upon the pink hedgehog not too far in front of him. "I hope you're not mad at me," his words broke Shadow's stare. "I thought you should have been the one to find her."

"So it was intentional," Shadow smirked, looking back up at Amy. He turned back towards Knuckles, expressing indifference, "I'm not her keeper though."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Knuckles exclaimed as he dropped his arms.

Shadow glared, "What're you going on about?"

They continued walking amidst the people, trailing a little further behind Rouge and Amy from before. He glanced at Rouge and pointed his chin in her direction, "You've known Rouge longer than anybody here. Judging from today I always thought she was the one you were nicest to…."

"Now don't take it the wrong way, Knuckles, she and I only work together. We can't help it when we're pitted as the enemy," Shadow interrupted.

There was an obvious tension between them at that moment. Knuckles' calmed his frustration through his determination to help out his friends. "Look, I apologize for what we might have said and done in the past, but that's ancient history now." His expression lightened as he spoke in a much softer, serious voice. "What I was going to say, Shadow, was that you treat Amy in a completely different light. She could become misguided by your kindness."

Shadow took the next few seconds to stare at Amy. He knew how naïve a girl like Amy can be. He could sense her innocence radiate right through from the core of her soul. He could see how perfectly she swayed back and forth, how her arms worked around the rim of her skirt, how he was just a cast shadow compared to her sunshine. "That's impossible. Besides, I'm no Sonic."

"Sonic's one of my greatest friends, but the way he treated Amy wasn't so great." Knuckles made sure not to talk in such a loud manner just so Amy or Rouge wouldn't overhear, so they slowed their pace a little more. "Yeah, she was a tad excessive in her feelings, but even when they went out for that time period she looked even more disappointed."

"Sorry, but I'm not some replacement" Shadow replied simply.

Knuckles sighed, "Then don't be," which caught Shadow by surprise.

"What's so important between you two that you had to be two and a half blocks behind us?" Rouge demanded, unamused. She stood in front of the two with her arms crossed and her foot tapping as Amy was waiting next to her. Knuckles was caught off guard being interrupted by Rouge while Shadow kept his cold stare. They had already reached the park, and the four of them were at the foot of its entrance.

"Oh whatever, let's just meet up here in an hour so we can finish that job quickly. We might as well make this a proper date while we're at it, so Knuckles and I will separate from here" Rouge asserted, leaving Amy to frantically look up at her. Amy's mouth dropped as if she were about to say something, but retracted quickly.

Knuckles exchanged looks with Shadow, one that commanded Shadow to be kind. "Just remember, you're not him," Knuckles whispered before heading off with Rouge. "We'll see you guys," and the echidna hurried towards Rouge. Once they interlocked hands Rouge looked over her shoulder, winked, and blew a kiss in their direction.

Amy nervously couldn't pull herself to look at Shadow. "Sorry you're stuck with me again," she attempted a laugh but failed. "Rouge is always doing something crazy."

"She's always been like that," Shadow remarked, making Amy truly smile.

There was a moment of silence between them before Amy spoke, both still staring at Rouge and Knuckles as they disappeared into the walking trail. "Well, we might as well have some fun while we're at it. There's no point in just standing here." Amy in determination placed her hands on her hips. "Now it's my turn to show you something, what do you say?"

Shadow stared into her emerald eyes, and smirked. He agreed, "It's a date."

* * *

**Thank you for reading!  
More to come!**


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